Dwayne Johnson's Hercules Has Entered Production

Director Brett Ratner has been developing his adaptation of Hercules for years now. First entering talks for the gig back in July of 2010, he got a bit sidetracked making the 2011 crime comedy Tower Heist, but has been focused on Greek myth since then, hiring box office superstar Dwayne Johnson to play the titular hero and collect a supporting cast that includes Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Joseph Fiennes, Peter Mullan, Aksel Hennie and John Hurt. And now cameras are finally ready to start rolling.

Paramount has issued a press release announcing that production has officially begun on Ratner's Hercules. Adapted by screenwriters Ryan Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos, the new film is based on the graphic novel "Hercules: The Thracian Wars" and follows the titular hero's adventures as a mercenary. He and his companions travel the coast of Greece looking for work, but find trouble when he is hired to defeat a savage warlord. Unlike the classic myth, this version of the story eliminates all of the supernatural elements, but implements the myth that surrounds the character's name into the story. The studio previously announced that they will have the movie in theaters on July 25, 2014, and production is taking place in Budapest, Hungary.

At this point it's unclear how the production of Hercules will affect Johnson's commitments to Fast & Furious 7, which will also be shooting this summer with new director James Wan at the helm. The star was just featured a few weeks ago in Fast & Furious 6, capping off an incredible first half of 2013 for the A-lister, a time period that has also included Michael Bay's Pain & Gain, Jon Chu's G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Ric Roman Waugh's Snitch.